Goodman: Have we seen the worst play calling in Iron Bowl history?

This is an opinion column.

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Hugh Freeze is lucky to have such a great recruiting class lined up for early national signing day next week.

Otherwise, Auburn’s second-year coach might not have a job after this Iron Bowl.

I’ve seen a lot of terrible ideas at football games over the years, but Freeze’s decision to give the go-ahead to a pass from running back Jarquez Hunter in the fourth quarter on Saturday will go down as one of the worst decisions in the history of this storied rivalry game.

Alabama 28, Auburn 14 will be remembered as Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer’s first win in the Iron Bowl. However, he didn’t contribute much to the victory. The game was marked by mistakes, none bigger or more bizarre than Hunter’s interception with 11:42 to play.

GOODMAN: Fight like a badger

Trailing by 14 points, Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne initiated the ill-conceived sequence by throwing a pass to Hunter near the Alabama sideline. Hunter, Auburn’s burly running back, then tried to throw the ball back across the entire Alabama defense to the opposite sideline.

Hunter’s pass reached about halfway before it was intercepted by Alabama safety Bray Hubbard. After that, the game was all but over despite another three-turnover performance from Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe.

Why did Hunter throw the ball at such a critical moment in the game? Freeze tried to be nice in his first game in Tuscaloosa since coaching Ole Miss, but the interception instead made him look like a circus clown on the sidelines.

And don’t put the game on Hunter either. For the record, I don’t think Brett Favre could have made that throw.

Auburn was only in the game at that point because Alabama’s quarterback kept giving the ball away.

Freeze’s employment status is safe for now. He is running one of the best recruiting classes in the country as the insurance policy is signed on Wednesday. By Thursday morning, that Iron Bowl will be a distant memory for Auburn fans — especially if Freeze can trade five-star Parker cornerback Na’eem Offord from Ohio State to the Tigers.

But this time next year? Auburn’s coach has bet everything on his third season on the Plains. If Freeze doesn’t win the Iron Bowl in 2025, it might be time to throw money at Deion Sanders.

That’s only true if Arkansas or another desperate SEC team doesn’t hire Coach Prime first.

Has there ever been an Iron Bowl where two fan bases were equally angry with both coaches?

If only Alabama wanted to win that much at Oklahoma last week. If only Freeze even cared about this entire season.

It would be nice if this was the last Iron Bowl that doesn’t matter to the College Football Playoff committee.

Or on the future of the two underperforming coaches.

This season was a bust for Auburn when Freeze opted to take Payton Thorne at quarterback instead of getting a better transfer. For Alabama, new coach DeBoer has struggled with the pressures of the SEC and now enters the bowl season without having demonstrated his ability to succeed retiring coach Nick Saban.

DeBoer came to Alabama as the hottest coach in the country. He is no more. The Crimson Tide blew their playoff chances against the Sooners last week with the worst performance by an Alabama team in recent memory. This Iron Bowl doesn’t paper over this mess.

Freeze has his own issues, but there could be more questions about DeBoer’s future with the Tide.

Can he keep his squad after a disappointing season that included losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma? Can he find a better quarterback than Milroe next season?

Finally, will DeBoer be fired if he doesn’t make the College Football Playoff next season?

Probably yes.

The eyes of the College Football Playoff committee were elsewhere on this final Saturday of the season. Alabama remains an afterthought and Auburn a sideshow of strange obscurity. We can only hope that the money keeps flowing for the players and that Texas and Ohio State don’t come over with their Lamborghinis.

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Joseph Goodman is the leading sports columnist for Alabama Media Group and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”